I
am halfway around the world, and I think my body is
almost adjusted. It is 8am, and I try not to think
about what time it is back home (but okay, just this
once--it is 5pm, but yesterday). Last 'night' I
slept in the transit lounge on a couch, awakened
every so often with sounds of Korean television,
buffering machines that were re-doing the cafe
floor, a new passenger-in-transition joining the
area, and once with the smell of paint, but overall
it was a pretty pleasant experience.

On my way across time zones, I was reading
'Essential Teachings' by His Holiness The Dalai
Lama--reading this before leaving it behind as I
enter China. He states one aspect about life: &quot;We
can observe that bodily suffering often comes from
the mind, or that if two people are enduring an
equal degree of physical suffering, one whose mind
is calm and happy suffers much less than one whose
mind is agitated and anxious.&quot; I keep this in
mind now, and especially will remember it up high on
the mountains. While checking in at the airport in
Denver, my attendant thought I was a little crazy to
be headed to any place where I would need a -35F
sleeping bag. I will try and keep my mind calm to
avoid any unneeded 'suffering.' As Richard Freeman
says so often when practicing yoga, I will keep a
subtle smile on my face, for I am happy in this.

Since it doesn't hurt to try and relieve suffering,
I am spoiled now with a nice lounge where I spent
almost an hour in the shower area (after all, I have
several hours until my flight to Chengdu), took
advantage of the fast and free internet, and made a
few trips to the cappuccino and tea bar.

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